Sep 13, 2012

The demand for savings and efficiency increase are a
constant struggle in public safety. Still no one is willing to jeopardize the
functionality and the service level of the operations. The risks of modern
world, including terrorist attacks or nature catastrophes, are in fact
increasing. This leaves the actors to think about the capabilities of modern
technology. Better communication has improved efficiency in other fields, why
shouldn’t it accomplish similar effects in public safety.The mobile connectivity has changed the lives of
everyone. With the boom of handheld smartphones every user understands the
benefits and capabilities of the wireless internet. Simultaneously most of the
public safety operators lack behind in TETRA –type or even older analog
technologies. It is difficult to understand why an expensive public safety
vehicle shouldn’t have the same or better capabilities than most of the
teenagers have in their pockets.Efficient modern public safety organizations demand
access to databases like patient records, criminal registers, stolen car
registers and even building drawings. This all could be realized by saving the
all necessary data inside the vehicle computers, as done often, but this
approach creates problems with updating the files. A key imperative is that
this data is always up to date, since otherwise our security and health is endangered.

Services are the key

The idea of the broadband availability in vehicles is
quite simple. How could we improve the operations if all necessary data was
available there where it is first needed?Services that are needed in the vehicles include

biometric checks

database queries

image and file transfer

location based services

and ultimately streaming video

Information sharing between jurisdictions will be
important when making PSS operations more effective. This means collecting and
forwarding data between the officers various jurisdiction data bases. If we are
happy with current voice based queries and in best cases SMS-type data
services, all these applications are impossible. It is obvious that broadband
capability that fits the public safety requirements is the imperative for
efficiency improvement. This creates the next dilemma. What is needed from the
PSS broadband solution technically and how can we afford it?

No need for dedicated broadband
networks

Current PRM systems cannot offer required data
capacity for above mentioned broadband applications. Simultaneously no single existing
commercial broadband network can offer needed coverage, availability and
reliability. The cost of building a suitable dedicated PSS broadband network is
through the roof and thus out of question.

The only way to tackle this techno-economical problem
is multi-channel routing technology. The multi-channel router technology offers
means to utilize existing parallel commercial and private networks. Multi-channel
routers need to be populated with several parallel wireless terminals supporting
a wide variety of different radio technologies or operators’ networks. Routing
of mission critical traffic need be performed always using the best network
available.

A solution is needed, not just boxes

The target of the public safety vehicle is to use it
efficiently. Since routing elements are outside office premises the solution
requires means to maintain and control the terminals and routers. For this
reason a remote device management, which allows easy and accurate management of
installed devices, is required. Through this remote management system
administrator can monitor and control the utilization of different networks and
even further optimize the usage of available capacities based on the collected
usage information. This all saves money and brings the Total Cost of Ownership
to an acceptable level. It is also a safety issue. When actually no
configuration is possible inside the vehicle, the control of the connectivity
remains always centralized.

Future proof solution

Adaptation to new emerging LTE technology will also be
much easier and smoother if broadband connectivity is introduced to the field
users using already broadband data. The new services that demand extremely high
bandwidths can be easily introduced on top of the exiting platforms. The
multichannel approach enables the usage of LTE where it is implemented and the
next best alternative elsewhere. As the LTE networks grow, the coverage for
these services will gradually improve.

The good news is that this is all available today.
Advanced public safety operators use this type of system efficiently today.
There is no reason why a similar system should not benefit all the officers in
the 3,3 Million public safety vehicles in the world!